Warm Tea and Milk
by Angel1876
Summary: On the anniversary of Alfred's death, Aya and Maria take the day off from working at the clinic to spend the day together. Adult Aya/Maria.


A soft breeze bushed pleasantly along Maria's skin, shifting the heavy sent of the surrounding grass and lightly ruffling her hair, which she'd laid out above her head to avoid catching it under her back. The tree towering overhead cut off the harsh rays of the sun, making the forest floor much cooler than the nearby clearing. A soft sigh came from her right, and without opening her eyes she knew her mistress held a mournful gaze.

"Are you alright?" she asked the younger girl. Blindly reaching out, her fingers found and rested upon Aya's shoulder.

"I'll be okay, Maria." there was a subtle movement, a tingling warmth as her mistresses hand covered her own. Despite herself, the maid found the sides of her lips twitching upward. Though this time of year was always hard on them both, time had numbed the wounds slightly. No more did they have nightmares of that night, no more did they find themselves sobbing at the reminder of what they no longer had.

Of course, it still hurt. Aya had lost her one remaining parent, and Maria had lost her beloved. It wasn't easy by any means, but things were getting better.

They'd bought themselves a little shack, paid for with the money Maria had saved up in five long years of working as a waitress. Aya had disapproved at the time, not the fact that her maid was working for someone else, but that she couldn't work with her. She didn't like to be alone, and after the horrors they'd faced in the mansion, Maria really couldn't blame her. At the very least, she had the rabbit, Snowball, but a soft and delicate animal wasn't a thing like a person that could speak and hold. The rabbit couldn't chase away the phantoms that still haunted the mistress even after the corpses had long since burned away.

Aya rolled over onto one side and wrapped an arm around Maria's waist, her head a comfortable weight on her stomach. "Do you think mom's upset that we're not close enough to visit her grave anymore?"

"I'm sure she understands, mistress." opening her emerald eyes just slightly to look down at the resting girl, she ran gentle fingers through the freshly cut black hair. Without the doctor to insist in letting it grow out, nothing was to interfere when Aya had found that it wouldn't get in the way anymore if it was kept short. Short hair actually seemed to fit her better, a trait that caused Maria a slight twinge of envy. She herself looked best with her long brown locks that caught on every little thing.

"...do you think father's lonely?"

"I don't know." she admitted honestly, pausing as her hand slid down to run along Aya's neck and shoulders, "I'd like to think he's with your mother."

"I miss him."

"As do I..."

The doctor and his daughter were similar in many ways, yet in many they differed. While they shared an obsession with death and the creation of dolls, the mistress had proved to be much more humane about it. It was something Maria found to be a wonderful change of pace. The patients that they worked with were only taken if they were terminal, and always they would be sedated before any experiments were preformed. It was the only thing about her time at the mansion that she didn't recall fondly, the constant suffering she saw under the doctors orders. While she'd happily thrown herself into any and every task he'd seen fit to give her, she didn't enjoy causing others pain.

Besides, this way, the dead would rest in peace. There was no anger or hate to fuel any curse, the events all those years ago need never be repeated. Not by them, at least.

"Maria?" the girl inched closer, turning so she was almost on top of her. Maria opened her eyes fully at that, meeting the deep blue gaze that was directed into her own.

"Yes, mistress?" she asked, slightly disturbed by the seriousness in Aya's expression.

"Do you ever get lonely? I mean, all you have here is me. Snowball's not even with us anymore."

She chuckled softly and brushed a few stray hairs from Aya's face, "It's exactly as you say, mistress. I have you. How could I ever be lonely when you're by my side?"

That brought a smile out of the girl, but it was short lived, she pressed the matter, "Are you sure you wouldn't want to be anywhere else? We have enough money now, it could support you until you got a income of your own. You don't have to stay here."

She frowned, her arm lowered to rest in the grass, an ache making itself known in her chest. Had she done something wrong? She couldn't handle being abandoned again. First her family, then the doctor, to go through it a third time would be unbearable. She swallowed hard and tried to keep her voice as even and calm as possible. If she was made to leave, she would not bother Aya with her own distress, "Do you want me to go away, mistress?"

"N-no, of course not!" she rushed at first, then continued in a much calmer tone once she realized what she'd done, "I don't want you to go anywhere. I just thought that, maybe...you stay with me here because it's the only option. It's not...you can go somewhere else, if you want. You aren't trapped here."

"...what brought this on, mistress? If I've said anything to make you feel like I wasn't content with where I am, I apologize. I am...happy here. There is no need to concern yourself." there was a beat of silence, a sheet of wetness gathered in Aya's eyes that, caught in a stray beam of light the leaves had somehow failed to block out, sparkled in the loveliest way. Alarmed, Maria moved to brush away the forming tears, "Mistress, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just...relieved, to hear you say that."

Aya leaned forward, pressing herself close to the older woman, who responded in kind. She ran her fingers through the girl's hair again, her other hand tracing continuous circles into her back through the thin fabric of her dress.

"Are you sure you're alright? We could go inside if you wish, I could make you some tea."

"No, thank you. I want to stay out here." Aya pulled away to give a wet, but sincere smile, and shifted into a more comfortable position in Maria's arms.

The sun made it's way across the sky, continuing in it's slow trek toward it's destination behind the mountains. Somewhere between the warm day and the chilled night, they'd fallen asleep. Maria had been the first to open her eyes to see the darkened shadows that had silently taken over the quiet forest. Underneath the mistess, she was quite warm. Aya however, was shivering where she lay, clinging to her for every spare ounce of body heat she could get.

She shook her shoulder, "Wake up, mistress. It's nighttime already."

"Nngghh..." Aya scooted down, away from the movement that was trying to drag her from sleep. Maria smiled slightly and sat up, following her movements. The girl ended up retreating onto her lap, face nuzzled into her lower stomach, almost to the pelvic bone. The movement tickled, she had to cover her mouth to keep the laugh in. Her face, she found, was really very warm. Was she blushing...? The mirth died into a slight feeling of embarrassment, she shook her head and prodded the girl a little harder.

"Mistress, we really should get back inside. You'll fall ill in this cold."

After several more failed attempts to evade the waking world, Aya finally opened her eyes. With a sleepy groan, she also sat up and rubbed at her face tiredly. Without the extra heat, Maria felt a slight tremor begin in her limbs. She could only imagine how chilled her mistress felt after being exposed for so long. She stood and offered her hand to assist Aya to her feet. Giving the smaller, thinner fingers a kind squeeze, she led her toward the cabin.

Unfortunately, inside wasn't much better than outside, but this was easily fixed. Maria quickly set to getting wood burning in the fireplace, and soon a soft orange flame bathed the room with a warm light. Without being asked, she grabbed one of the extra blankets from the guest room and lay it over the mistresses shoulders. She also made some tea for them both.

At the other's request, Maria sat next to her on the couch, and again found herself with a pleasant weight as Aya leaned against her shoulder. Careful not to jostle her too much, she sipped the slightly bitter liquid in the cup. It was still too hot to drink all at once, unlike Ayas', which was cooled by the milk she always added. Deciding to stop before she burnt her tongue too badly, she put her cut next to the empty one on the nearby table.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yes..." she tilted her head back to gaze up at Maria's face, "You know, your eyes look lovely in this light."

"Ah, um, thank you, mistress." the flush was back, and this time she could feel it. Self conscious of the red tinge to her face, she turned away, directing her attention to the rows of books lining the wall on the far side of the room. The last person to compliment her eyes had been the doctor, during what had been their last time together. Without Mrs. Drevis around, they'd finally been able to share moments in an actual bed, instead of the cold tables that were more often than not freshly stained with their victims blood. He'd leaned over her, his hand molded to her jaw and his thumb drifting over her cheek, his voice had been lowered to that deep purr that never failed to make her shiver.

Twenty four hours hadn't yet passed between that moment and the one with which he'd released his final breath.

Like a ghost from the past, fingertips brushed under her chin and tugged ever so lightly, a silent request as opposed to an unspoken order. She swallowed reflexively, and turned back to meet the deep blue orbs that stared steadily back at her. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, mistress. I am well. I was just thinking." it was here she noticed just how much Aya had grown in the years they'd spent with each other. The first time they's met, she'd only come up to the maid's waist. Now, though, she was only a few short inches away from matching Maria's own height. She also noticed, and her face burned under the mistresses hand at this thought, that they were very, very close right then. It wasn't out of the ordinary, of course, they were almost constantly sharing physical contact. After so many years of only having themselves for company, after long nights of hugging and soothing each others fears and hurts, not touching was more out of place.

Yet this was different. There was an undeniable tension in the air, and she could fell Aya shaking, the stiffness under the skin and the quickened breath that mingled with hers. She kept as still as she could as the other seemed to gather her strength and close the distance remaining between them.

Her lips were very soft, if slightly chapped, and seemed to hold all the hesitation in the world as they brushed timidly over her own. The movements were clumsy, uncertain, it was all too obvious that it was the first time she'd ever kissed anyone. For just a few seconds too long, Maria sat frozen, not knowing how best to respond. This was Aya, little Aya, who'd been all of seven when they'd first met. She was the doctors daughter, his precious doll that must be kept safe and pure at all costs.

Except she wasn't a child anymore, and the doctor was no longer living...and neither of them had anyone else.

The girl pulled away, eyes wide and gaze lowered, "I-I'm sorry, I just-" her words were cut off Maria slipped a hand around the back of her neck to hold her lightly in place, and again brought their mouths together. She kept the pace deliberately slow, to let the mistress learn how to move against her and to give her every opportunity to get away should she change her mind. Bit by bit, she felt the girls' muscles relax, anxiety massaged away by her fingers probing along her arm, her ribs, her waist.

Aya's hands found their way into Maria's mess of hair, her nails scraped delicately along her scalp as they tugged her forward, toward her, and she found herself having to support her weight as she was pulled to hover up above the mistress. It was a position she'd never been in before, towering over another figure, but at the quiet whimper she heard bubble up from Aya's throat she found she didn't mind the shift that much. She moved to trace and wet their dried lips, and found the mistress's mouth invitingly open for her.

The flavor was mellow and sweet, overly warm from the tea. She started by exploring the gums and teeth, the smooth inside of her cheeks, until finally she delved in deeper to run over the roof of her mouth and meet with Aya's own tongue. With ever gentle movements, she coaxed her out and encouraged the girl to examine her as well.

They were panting by the time they parted, and though she knew she shouldn't, Maria felt a pleasant twist in her stomach at the knowledge that she'd taken Aya's breath away. Abruptly, she realized she was still pinning her down, and sat back up, helping the other to do the same.

"Th...thank you, Maria," the words were quiet and almost painfully awkward, "That was...nice."

She swallowed a chuckle, not wanting Aya to think she was laughing at her, and instead brushed a kiss along her temple, near the hair line, "It is I who should be grateful to you, mistress." Maria folded Aya into her arms and began to rock her back and fourth, inhaling the scent of earth and trees that had seeped into them from their earlier rest, "Thank you...so, so much."


End file.
